Who will defend Detroit? – Detroit Metro Times

The threat is here

Since deploying the National Guard to Washington, D.C., the federal government has mobilized to deploy more troops to Chicago, Portland, and Memphis. While the administration claims these deployments are about controlling crime, history and context tell a different story. This is not a public safety strategy — it’s a political maneuver pulled straight from the authoritarian playbook. 

Now, with recent talk of President Donald Trump invoking the Insurrection Act, the administration is laying the groundwork to further erode civil rights, suppress dissent, and undermine the authority of local governments to govern themselves. What’s at stake is democracy itself, the right of people and their cities to exercise self-determination, to choose their leaders, and to shape their collective future free from federal coercion.

It is not a stretch to anticipate that Detroit could soon join the list of municipal targets. With a high-stakes election on the horizon, Detroiters must ask themselves: Which candidates will have the courage to stand up to authoritarianism and defend our city’s right to self-govern? Across the country, cities are taking bold steps to protect their residents and affirm the principles of local democracy in the face of federal overreach.

How other cities are fighting back 

Across the country, mayors and city councils are moving swiftly to assert local autonomy, defend civil rights, and protect residents from unlawful and unconstitutional federal incursions.

In Chicago, Mayor Brandon Johnson and the State of Illinois have filed a lawsuit to block the Trump administration from deploying National Guard troops on city streets. “It’s going to take all of us, and I’m using every single tool that’s available to me,” Johnson said. “We don’t know what our limits are just yet — and I’m going to test the boundaries as much as I possibly can to do everything in my power to defend the people of this city.”

Johnson also issued an executive order — a mechanism that Detroit’s city charter also allows — establishing the Protecting Chicago Initiative. This initiative establishes a city-wide “Know Your Rights” campaign, demands that President Trump withdraw his threat to deploy the National Guard to Chicago, and reaffirms that the Chicago Police Department (CPD) will remain locally controlled. The executive order also explicitly states that CPD will not cooperate with or enable the unlawful actions of federal law enforcement or any U.S. Armed Forces operating within Chicago. 

Additionally, Mayor Johnson issued an executive order establishing “ICE-Free Zones,” prohibiting federal immigration authorities from using city-owned or controlled spaces — such as parking lots, garages, or vacant lots — as staging or processing sites for immigration enforcement.

Other cities are also taking steps to defend their cities:

• In Providence, Rhode Island, the city council mailed “Know Your Rights” information to every household, ensuring residents are equipped with the tools to assert their legal protections in the face of federal overreach.
• In El Paso, Texas, the County Commissioners Court adopted a resolution requiring federal agents operating within the county to clearly display personal identification and agency insignia and barring the use of face masks to conceal their identities.
• In Nashville, Mayor Freddie O’Connell signed an executive order establishing a system to track and publicly report all local interactions with federal immigration authorities, increasing transparency and accountability.
• In Evanston, Illinois, the city council amended its Welcoming City Ordinance to broaden the definition of “immigration agent” and further restrict city data sharing with ICE and any third party that could relay information to federal enforcement agencies.

Together, these actions form a blueprint for local resistance by using every available legal, legislative, and administrative tool to safeguard residents, defend local sovereignty, and make clear that the people will fight authoritarianism at every attempt. 

What Detroit’s next leaders must do

Detroit has always stood at the intersection of power and protest. From the labor movements that reshaped the nation’s economy to the 1967 uprising that demanded dignity and justice, this city has long embodied the struggle for self-determination. That legacy is being tested once again. The threat of federalized troops on our streets is not just a question of law enforcement — it’s a question of whether Detroiters will retain the power to govern ourselves, to determine what safety looks like in our own communities, and to ensure that our government remains accountable to the people who live here.

Detroit’s leaders have both the moral authority and the legal tools to act. The city charter grants the mayor the power to issue executive orders — just as Chicago and Nashville have done — to affirm Detroit’s autonomy and protect its residents from unconstitutional federal action. City Council can follow the lead of Providence, El Paso, and Evanston by adopting resolutions that demand transparency from federal agencies, bar local cooperation with unlawful operations, and inform residents of their rights. These actions are not symbolic; they are essential acts of democratic defense.

The ballot box and beyond: The long work of democracy in Detroit

Despite the gravity of these issues, they have received little attention in the current election campaigns. Over the summer, the Damon J. Keith Center for Civil Rights distributed a 14-question survey to all mayoral primary candidates, asking how each would defend Detroiters against potential abuses of federal power. The majority of candidates — including Mary Sheffield — responded. Candidate Solomon Kinloch did not. The Keith Center also sent the same survey to all City Council candidates in the upcoming general election. Candidates Denzel McCampbell (District 7), Roy McCalister, Jr. (District 2), Renata Miller (District 5), and Councilmember Coleman A. Young II (At-Large) replied, while the others failed to respond. This silence is alarming — especially given that Vice President JD Vance has openly threatened to deploy the National Guard onto Detroit’s streets. Detroiters deserve clear, public answers from those seeking to lead them.

This November 4th, Detroiters must cast their votes with these truths in mind: democracy is not defended by rhetoric but by action, and local power is only as strong as the people willing to protect it. Elections are an instrument, not the end. Electing leaders who will stand up to federal overreach is vital — but so is sustaining the kind of political culture that holds them accountable long after the votes are counted. Detroit needs a durable civic movement that insists on transparency, demands participation, and builds networks of accountability. The right to self-govern is not a one-day choice; it is a continuous practice of vigilance, courage, and collective responsibility.

Angel McKissic, Ph.D. (she/her) is the Director of the Damon J. Keith Center for Civil Rights at Wayne State University Law School. Peter Hammer, J.D./Ph.D. is the Faculty Director of the Damon J. Keith Center and A. Alfred Taubman Professor of Law at Wayne State University Law School.

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